Translator: CinderTL
In response to Mi Hai's inquiry, the other four remained silent.
Lan Chen and Mo Yexue turned their gazes toward Xue Mei, hoping to glean an answer from her.
However, Xue Mei directed her questioning look at Song Wen.
"Yin Shuo, do you have a way to determine which path we should take?"
Song Wen hesitated for a moment before patting the Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist.
The Nether Fox suddenly appeared before everyone.
It turned its eyes, scanning the group.
When it noticed everyone staring intently at it, the three fox tails it had been waving in the air immediately drooped.
It shrank its body and crouched at Song Wen's feet, as if only by his side could it feel a semblance of safety.
"Is this... the Nether Fox?" Mo Yexue's eyes lit up, her voice tinged with surprise.
Song Wen nodded slightly without speaking.
"Is it the one from the Endless Desert?" Xue Mei asked.
To avoid revealing too much information, she did not mention the Nether Shrine in the desert.
"Yes," Song Wen replied.
"I didn't expect it to have advanced to the peak of the third rank. If it can be nurtured to the fourth rank, it could be used to refine at least one or two high-grade soul defense magical items."
Xue Mei's words caused the Nether Fox to become even more frightened.
It curled up tighter, its eyes pleading as it looked at Song Wen.
"Master, is there something you need me to do? Please, give me your orders. Even if it means going through fire and water, I will spare no effort to fulfill your commands."
"We need to exit the Primordial Origin Cave. Can you determine which path we should take?" Song Wen asked.
"Yes, Master."
The Nether Fox's fearful expression relaxed slightly.
As long as it had value, its life would not be easily discarded.
It observed the two branching paths several times before raising a front paw and pointing to the left passage.
"We should take this one," the Nether Fox said, though its tone was not entirely certain.
The path the Nether Fox indicated was the same one Gou Jun had chosen.
With this mutual confirmation, the five of them entered the left passage without hesitation.
Not long after they started walking, the Nether Fox's voice suddenly echoed in their minds.
"Master, esteemed seniors, be careful. There's a fourth-rank Resentful Spirit ahead."
Hearing this, the five became more alert, though they were not overly concerned.
A mere fourth-rank Resentful Spirit was no match for five Nascent Soul cultivators.
"Yin Shuo, with this Nether Fox of yours, traversing the Primordial Origin Cave has become much easier," Xue Mei praised, suddenly producing a Soul Bottle in her hand.
She opened the bottle, and a third-rank Resentful Spirit suddenly appeared before the Nether Fox.
The Resentful Spirit was severely injured, its soul form unstable.
The Nether Fox immediately understood. It opened its mouth and inhaled, swallowing the Resentful Spirit whole.
"Thank you for the reward, Senior."
As it communicated through Divine Sense, it even raised its front paws in a gesture of respect toward Xue Mei.
Soon, the five of them encountered the fourth-rank Resentful Spirit the Nether Fox had warned them about.
The Resentful Spirit had the head of an ox and the body of a human. The ox head was large, sitting atop a body of normal human size, creating a jarringly incongruous appearance.
It was heavily injured, missing an arm.
Under the combined assault of the five, the Resentful Spirit sustained further injuries and was soon on the brink of death.
Looking at the wounds on its arm, Mo Yexue frowned and asked, "These injuries seem to have been inflicted by a demon beast. How could such a powerful demon beast exist in this place?"
"It should be Yang Yu's Spirit Beast," Lan Chen gazed at the dark passage ahead. "It seems Yang Yu is following the trail left by Gou Jun."
"Fellow Daoists," Song Wen suddenly spoke up, "how about leaving this Resentful Spirit to me? The Nether Fox enjoys feeding on Resentful Spirits, but unfortunately, there is no Ghost Mist in the Tianyuan Continent, making Resentful Spirits hard to find. My Nether Fox hasn't tasted one in a long time."
Perhaps because they still relied on the Nether Fox to lead the way, and since none of the four—Lan Chen, Mo Yexue, Xue Mei, and Mi Hai—practiced ghost cultivation, the Resentful Spirit was of little use to them, they all nodded in agreement.
Lan Chen added, "If we encounter any other Resentful Spirits in this Primordial Origin Cave, they will all belong to you, Fellow Daoist."
"Thank you, Fairy Lan Chen," Song Wen said with a cupped-hand salute.
A surge of Blood Sea emerged from his body, engulfing the Resentful Spirit.
The Blood Sea receded back into Song Wen's body, and the Resentful Spirit vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, the other four didn't question it, assuming Song Wen had sealed the Resentful Spirit away with a Mystic Treasure.
The five of them continued forward.
About ten miles from the previous fork, the passage split into three paths once again.
This time, there were no fresh traces near the fork, making it impossible to determine the direction Gou Jun and Yang Yu had taken.
By now, the five had realized that the Primordial Origin Cave was a labyrinth.
With their Divine Sense restricted, it was easy to get lost inside.
"Fortunately, we have Yin Shuo's Nether Fox to guide us."
Except for Song Wen, the other four all had this thought in their minds.
Following the Nether Fox's guidance, the five entered the right-hand path.
After walking a few miles, they once again discovered signs of battle.
Half of the cave had collapsed.
The cave walls had been specially reinforced, and destroying them was no easy task.
This was enough to show the intensity of the battle.
...
The labyrinth within the Primordial Origin Cave was extremely complex, with forks appearing almost every ten miles.
Each fork had four identical passages.
The five had no idea how the Nether Fox managed to discern the direction in such a convoluted maze.
At each fork, the Nether Fox sometimes directed them to the left, sometimes to the right, and sometimes straight ahead.
But one thing remained constant: they always found traces of battle along the way.
This made them believe they were still following Gou Jun and reassured them that the Nether Fox's guidance was reliable.
Along the way, they encountered only a few Resentful Spirits, mostly low-level ones, making their journey relatively smooth.
Suddenly, the Nether Fox, which had been following closely behind Song Wen, came to a halt.
"What's wrong?" Song Wen asked.
"There's someone ahead, heading in our direction," the Nether Fox said.
"Someone?" Song Wen looked puzzled.
"He's coming..." The Nether Fox retreated several yards.
The five immediately tensed up, each activating their Mystic Treasures.
In an instant, Spiritual Power surged, Sword Qi crisscrossed, and Buddhist light shone brightly...
Their combined efforts stirred the Ghost Mist, causing it to churn violently.
"Fellow Daoists ahead, please do not attack. I am Yang Yu of the Beastmaster Sect."
Yang Yu's voice came from the opposite direction.
He had clearly noticed the fluctuations in spiritual energy and the disturbance in the Ghost Mist caused by the five activating their Mystic Treasures from a distance.
The five exchanged glances and all stopped channeling their Mystic Treasures.
Yang Yu had entered the Primordial Origin Cave seven days before them. Yet, they now encountered him here, which was enough to suggest that Yang Yu must have encountered some trouble.
They intended to gather some information about the Primordial Origin Cave from Yang Yu, as well as inquire about Gou Jun's whereabouts.
However, none of the five retracted their Mystic Treasures, instead remaining in a state of readiness.
(End of the Chapter)
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